OMG!!!...Now SONY with the A300!!!

[santik]

looks solid like a brick.....

[xterm]

wow, the material seems too plastic. I duno, seems so smooth, yet, seems fragile.

The battery grip was weird, i wonder how ppl will be holding it.

Overall?
I duno, it seems their "White" lens material was soo "PVC" feeling. Anyway, we'll see what can i do first.

[mee]

Originally Posted by xterm wow, the material seems too plastic. I duno, seems so smooth, yet, seems fragile. The battery grip was weird, i wonder how ppl will be holding it. Overall? I duno, it seems their "White" lens material was soo "PVC" feeling. Anyway, we'll see what can i do first.

white lens material soo PVC? you are always welcome to head down to Sony Style KLCC where they have the full range of lenses except the RM27,000 white 300mmf2.8G SSM lens. you can try all the lenses in the showcase. they have the white RM10,888 70-200mm f2.8G SSM for testing too. I always tried the lenses when I'm buying or just plain testing only. the white lens is full solid metal and built like a battle tank. the only PVC like is the ABS material lens hood with opening for adjusting CIR-Pol which is cool and handy.

even the 'plastic material' built on the carl zeiss is very tough, I've dropped my zeiss lenses many times on hard concrete pavement and they didnt break or affected the elements inside so far. it bounces upon impact which I think has the 'spring' properties of absorbing impact and shocks.

looks can be deceiving but I think its becoz of I have the trust on the brand SONY and Zeiss engineering.

[ted]

..dewd, its been floating around the Net for sometime now dewd. I even blog (my personal feeling) about it hehehe

[mirebus]

cuurently your are without a system. so james what is it going to be; OLY or SONY or both

the birds are coming; errr...you like to be caught with your pants down when surrounded by birds

cheers

[jmoh]

Originally Posted by ted ..dewd, its been floating around the Net for sometime now dewd. I even blog (my personal feeling) about it hehehe

Hai dude,
I knew it was floating around for sometime now, but it doesn't have the stink ( real picture ) of the cam.....This one was seen ( used ) by a sony spy at a recent nikon D-3,D300 launch in korea....Mine is the icing on the cake......HaHaHa... ...James.

[jmoh]

Originally Posted by mirebus cuurently your are without a system. so james what is it going to be; OLY or SONY or both the birds are coming; errr...you like to be caught with your pants down when surrounded by birds cheers

Hai tuk,
My mind was set on OLY after that brief ( Nikon Encounter )... But still waiting for that Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!........70-300MM ZUIKO. Kalau tak tahan temporary buy a P&S and shoot along......Thanks....James.

[noordin]

Originally Posted by jmoh Hai khoking, How are you? still studying hard in nippon?...Anyway here's the web add: www.photographybay.com And here's the leak spec's: @ 12 MGP CMOS SENSOR @ 5.5 FPS DRIVE. @ 2.5'' LCD SCREEN @ BUILT N DUST & IS For more please lock on to the above web site...........Thanks......James.

With this specs, what chance does it has competing with the Nikon D300? BangHead:

To top that the tele lens prices are prohibitive.

[jmoh]

Originally Posted by noordin With this specs, what chance does it has competing with the Nikon D300? BangHead: To top that the tele lens prices are prohibitive.

Hai bang noor,
Nevermind lah! If you can't beat them just joint them lah!!!....HaHaHa......Anyway they ( SONY ) have a second model which IMO will easily top the D300 hands down. Only gripe is the price$$$$$$$.......kocet pun kena bakar ohhhhh!!!!.....As you are already a full fledge Canonites, i don't see any harm done anyway. As i alway's say '' IT'S THE MAN BEHIND THE LEN'S THAT'S IMPORTANT, NOT THE JCB ''.... ....tHANKS.....jAMES.

[Kid Shotter]

Originally Posted by jmoh Selamat petang cikgu, Nowaday's most dslr have to had some plastic in their body. Budget wise it's the only way to keep down the price, as the price of metal are skyrocketing...That grip design (IMHO ) is very practical for vertical shooting. It's place just nice, so that you won't have to adjust your index finger up and down ( when you flip to the vertical position )... ...That's good design and maybe ( IMO )...Design by PORSCHE...??? Just a wild guess. Thanks.......James.

Actually,Porsch design is not that good because they place the engine at the wrong place(RR,unideal weight distrubition) .And,the Sony A300 is a hellla ugly of camera.More ugly than my already ugly E300.

[Eugene Goh]

It'll be officially launch in Italy next week on the 5th of Sept. More info can be found in Dyxum forum.

Minolta and Sony's DSLR users have been waiting for some while since the models appeared in PMA'07. The name of the advanced amateur model I'm not sure whether will be A300 or A700, some predicted it to be an A10 previously.

Seriously I hope it'll offer something better than 40D or even D300 at a competitive price, to be my next upgrade next year. I'm really happy with my A100 so far and I hope the new model has a lower noise level at high ISO and in-body AF improvement

[xterm]

Originally Posted by mee white lens material soo PVC? you are always welcome to head down to Sony Style KLCC where they have the full range of lenses except the RM27,000 white 300mmf2.8G SSM lens. you can try all the lenses in the showcase. they have the white RM10,888 70-200mm f2.8G SSM for testing too. I always tried the lenses when I'm buying or just plain testing only. the white lens is full solid metal and built like a battle tank. the only PVC like is the ABS material lens hood with opening for adjusting CIR-Pol which is cool and handy. even the 'plastic material' built on the carl zeiss is very tough, I've dropped my zeiss lenses many times on hard concrete pavement and they didnt break or affected the elements inside so far. it bounces upon impact which I think has the 'spring' properties of absorbing impact and shocks. looks can be deceiving but I think its becoz of I have the trust on the brand SONY and Zeiss engineering.

Agreed also, anyway, is the white lens also protect/reduce fungus infection? I heard there are some lens with such capabilities, that's why it so expensive.

[Digi]

Originally Posted by xterm Agreed also, anyway, is the white lens also protect/reduce fungus infection? I heard there are some lens with such capabilities, that's why it so expensive.

Thats not the reason why its so expensive. Its the 4 letters "S O N Y" plastered onto it that makes it so expensive and the marketing effort that makes the public believe that it is an unbelievingly superior product.

[mee]

Originally Posted by Digi Thats not the reason why its so expensive. Its the 4 letters "S O N Y" plastered onto it that makes it so expensive and the marketing effort that makes the public believe that it is an unbelievingly superior product.

it has already been expensive since Minolta days especially the 'G' lenses. with the current exchange rate compared to 15 years ago, it does look the Sony price is inflated. BTW there's always cheaper alternative like canon and nikon if money matter most and consumers are free to choose. with recently new released models, the nikon has the cutting edge spec wise. i dont think the new sony models will surpass but what about the price? let's wait n see

[Digi]

Originally Posted by mee it has already been expensive since Minolta days especially the 'G' lenses. with the current exchange rate compared to 15 years ago, it does look the Sony price is inflated. BTW there's always cheaper alternative like canon and nikon if money matter most and consumers are free to choose. with recently new released models, the nikon has the cutting edge spec wise. i dont think the new sony models will surpass but what about the price? let's wait n see

The way I see it, Sony has to price the new DSLR affordably for it to have a chance in the market. The lenses are just too expensive! Selling an entry level camera(A100) to the masses whose majority will never but a zeiss or a G is one thing, but targetting advanced amatuers is another. I can't think of many who will buy into a system whose lenses cost 20-30% more than well established and quality proven competitor if the new camera body is also equivalent. That being said....if sony prices it affordably and sells well, the competitors can just adjust prices too.

Hard times ahead for sony unless: -
1. Sony's marketing is super good
2. Sony change all pro lens to carry "zeiss" branding, thus "justifying" the extra cost. (Whether zeiss is better quality that Gs are another debate altogether)

Digi

[mee]

IMHO, after the launch of A100 from sony and its pricing policy, i dont see that sony is serious to capture a majority maket share of DSLR market. i believe its P&S cameras sells better than its dslr. sony just want to add a dslr range to its electronics product range to prove that they have full electronics range for the consumer market. they fail to introduce good pro performance dslr instead of the A100. the A100 is still considered an entry level against its canon and nikon but it was the fisrt 10MP entry level that was followed suit by canon and nikon entry level a year later. i dont think sony bother or cares about hardtimes ahead. they have been adapted to their marketing ways eversince their other products as well. i dont think theres cheaper consumer based Bravia LCDs or CRT Tvs, home theater, stereo systems, laptops, walkmans,dvd players, camcorders etc. compares to other brand names but theye keep on producing newer and better products
. and still they survive their worldwide operations. theres nothing really matters for sony if they were to end up like minolta or Rollei. AFAIK no company are immune to wind ups, mergers and takeovers.

[Digi]

Sony announced plans to be no 2 in DSLR market when it launched the Alpha line.
While Sony sells more p&s, they had a recent string of problems with their china made cam quality. And the competition is so fierce in the P&S market that margins are minimal....they really need to sell by big volumes. Everyone makes P&S nowadays, but DSLRs are still the portfolio of traditional camera makers(including takeovers).
DSLRs are where the growth is. Sure, volume is not as huge, but the profit margins are large. And add that with profits from lenses & flashes.
Sony is out to make money first and foremost. So they do care about sales and such. I don't think they would have bought over minolta if they didn't mean to make it big. I just hope that they do not become overconfident of themselves and keep fantasising that people will keep paying premium just because of their brand. They have to deliver some unique technology and superior quality to justify. I keenly await September 5th..........

[Geoffery]

Profit margins from DSLRs are indeed higher. But selling DSLRs to consumers is not the same as selling computers and cellphones. People who buy cameras is to use them to take pictures and the owners are also passionate about photography (collectors are another story). It is like selling automobiles to the consumers, who expect prompt after-sales service and support. Sony can't just expect its DSLR customers to simply "write off an Alpha A100 and buy the latest model which is cheaper and better" whenever a unit is send in for servicing or technical support by a user.

[simedarby]

the higher lens price inSony may due to comparison with mass production from Nikon and Canon. remember there isn't so many Sony DSLR user around, eventhough Sony is building it's momemtum and playing catch up, they still are far lesser market share than canon/nikon.

if you go to manufacturing, 1ku price and 10ku price is different. If you understand this well, you know why Sony lens price are generally higher than Nikon/Canon. For end user, it is really up to them to judge whether the so call "more expensive" lens is justifiable. It is a very subjective matter.

*IF* Sony grow as big as Canon in the future, their lens price will be competitive as well. This make perfect sense, right.

oh i'm not OEM lens supporter by the way, even if i'm in Nikon or Canon camp, i'll still buy Sigma and Tamron. To me, it is still far too expensive to buy any OEM lens as i think they are still overprice as compare to Sigma or Tamron at equivalent spec.

[albnok]

Personally, I like the Minolta/Sony vertical grip because the shutter button is aligned lower.

Whenever I try my friend's D80 with battery grip, I always wish my left eye was lowered down to my left cheek. Quite tiring if you ask me, to have to raise my hand quiiite a bit.